Hello,
i am trying to figure out - when the drone consumes more battery energy - when he is idle (hang in air)  or when he is in flight (forward backward)?
I mean , throttle stays same, just forward/backward stick is used?

Thanks

Hovering consume less battery power.

DJI-Amy Posted at 2016-3-2 05:24
Hovering consume less battery power.

+1.
When does your car/boat/bike use more gas, under power or at idle?
Same holds true for a battery.

Definitely it consumes more juice when flying. And I guess the higher the flight, the higher the energy it demands from the battery.
Cheers

Thanks guys, but imagine - throttle  is on the same level (only to hold aircraft in air). Now how drone is flying? - it's slowing down(or increasing?) the pair of his front propellers then he makes few degrees angle of his body and based on that - aircraft starts to move forward?
If i am right - then slowing down front propellers must decrease energy consumption. Or what?

Thanks

I am not sure if the statements above are true.

As a former helicopter pilot, I can assure you that for a helicopter it is more efficient to fly forward at a medium speed, than hovering. Google "helicopter translational lift". I tend to believe that these physics also apply to drones. But I have never tested this myself, but it might be an interesting project!

JanPrivat Posted at 2016-3-2 13:30
I am not sure if the statements above are true.

As a former helicopter pilot, I can assure you that ...

I am also sure that your are correct; you gain in efficiency once you are flying forward at medium speed. This is quite evident when flying smaller quads, where you are not stopping to take videos or photos.
Good flying!

JanPrivat Posted at 2016-3-2 14:30
I am not sure if the statements above are true.

As a former helicopter pilot, I can assure you that ...

Thanks Jan, then, i assume that i were right - hovering takes more power than flying at the same altitude forward/backward/sideway ?

I would definitely say flying forward (or any direction with the Phantoms) at a medium speed uses the least power, because of the transitional lift gained when moving.

This is easily demonstrated with a standard RC heli.

Set power for a level hover 20' up and then add cyclic forward w/o adding power. The heli will gain speed and start to climb, to stay level you have to reduce power.

But also bear in mind that turning sharply (yaw and some right stick on the phantoms while moving forward) will reduce lift and thus need more power to stay level.

So moderate speed with not much turning will give longest flight time.

mmm  when you are hovering  the quad use more power

Why ?

if there is some wind the quad is trying to keep the position  and lift the quad  all the time

so if you are flying around , the quad uses the wind  like a plane  the quad lands too, the quad is not like a car because the car is on the ground it doest have to carry the weiht , this is more like a plane or a bird , if you land  you need less power  to keep the quad in the air ,  do the test and leave  the quad hovering
and then  use the quad flying around  you are going to see the difference,  i already did some tests and thats what i get

just do some smooth flights fling around ( not 100% forward pitch) , and you will see , not full forward pitch   because 100% of the power of course drain your battery faster

cutestockfootag Posted at 2016-3-2 06:26
Thanks guys, but imagine - throttle  is on the same level (only to hold aircraft in air). Now how dr ...

while I do agree the Naza(cpu) is working much harder while hovering

the battery is only getting minor usage tweeking things to hold spot.

vs the power needed to move at 20 mph or lift hundreds of feet etc.

GTDrone Posted at 2016-3-2 09:58
mmm  when you are hovering  the quad use more power

Why ?

And what if you are going against the wind, lol?

johnsr Posted at 2016-3-2 07:37
I am also sure that your are correct; you gain in efficiency once you are flying forward at medium ...

However, this really only applies if you have some type of headwind, if you have a tailwind the effect is negated.

DillPickleAdil Posted at 2016-3-2 10:18
And what if you are going against the wind, lol?

Same case , once you dont do full pitch.

if  you fly with a plane to the ground with some speed and then you go forward against the wind the plane is going to go up ,

this is not about how fast you can go against the wind , is more  helping the quad to lift less weight  using the wind

DillPickleAdil Posted at 2016-3-2 17:20
However, this really only applies if you have some type of headwind, if you have a tailwind the ef ...

Yes of course, if the air mass is moving with you, then you are hovering again.

I suggest you test the theory.

On a calm day, leave your P3 hovering until it reaches 50% battery.  Then recharge the battery & try a slow POI flight until 50% is reached.  If you use different batteries, do the test again, but swap which battery does the POI & which one just the hover.  It's the best way to learn & to know for sure regardless of even the best theory.

GTDrone Posted at 2016-3-2 11:39
Same case , once you dont do full pitch.

if  you fly with a plane to the ground with some speed an ...

That is not true at all, this is only the case if there is an updraft, or a body shape that causes the air to push it upwards.

DillPickleAdil Posted at 2016-3-2 12:48
That is not true at all, this is only the case if there is an updraft, or a body shape that causes ...

well i that's what i get when i did the tests ,  i think that is better to move around
instead of hover , even if you just hover the quad is going to fight the wind to keep the position

It will also make a difference whether you are in P mode or ATTI mode.

According to MBA Google, the translational lift also applies to drones.
Also, from a site i read often:
http://quadcopter101.blogspot.cl ... ficiency-hover.html

It's hovering that uses more power, I've tested it. The p3 seems to generate some lift from the aerodynamics of the phantom 3. Obviously full speed would be worse but medium speed flying is better then hovering in my tests.  If you see someone to acrobatic barrel roll with their phantom 1 in manual mode you will see that it does generate lift

There will be an optimum airspeed when the drone is using the least power; all rotor craft have a power curve which comprises of power required on the vertical axis and speed on the horizontal. This optimum speed is called min power speed and for example in the helicopter I fly, this is 65-70kts. I can be flying at this airspeed and using 45-50% torque (average weight cab half way through a flight). This is the speed at which translational lift is giving you the most benefit, but you are not going so fast as to increase the drag massively (which would be the case going full speed ahead). If i want to speed up to, say 120kts, i will be using 80% torque as the drag has increased massively. If i came to the hover OGE (see below) i'd be using around 80% also on an average day.

An OGE (out of ground effect) hover requires the most power and is the most dangerous place to be, and as such is avoided by all (competent) helicopter pilots where possible. An IGE (inside ground effect) hover is a good place to be as the ground cushion will decrease the power required. In the helicopter i fly the ground cushion extends to about 2/3 the size of the rotor, so about 20ft. Not sure how this translates to drones. I can hover at 10ft using 70% torque, then reduce to the 2ft hover and be using 60%.

So in summary, there will be an optimum airspeed that will use least power and hovering inside the ground cushion will use less power (but more than forward speed). Hovering OGE will always use the most power.